Improvement in cultivators



ininl gttr strut dimite.

Letters Patent No. 91,212, dated .Tune 15, 1869.

IMPROV'MENT- IN CULTIVATORS.

'.l.'he Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To 'whom 'it may concern.-

Be it known that I, B.VM. CLOSE, of West Camden, Oneida county, New York, havevinvented certain new and useful Improvements in .Gltivatorsg and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top view of a cultivator made in accordance with my invention, and' L Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same.

My invention has relation more particularly to the method of uniting the thills with the frame of a cultivator; and

Its object is to effect the union of the two in such manner as to allow the horse, or other draught-animal employed, the greatest liberty of movement, without interfering with the proper operation and directing of the cultivator.

To this end the invention consists First, in pivoting the thills' to the cultivatorl substantially in the manner hereinafter described, so that they can swing upon said pivot in a horizontal plane, and

thus allow the horse, or other animal, -to .turn from' side to side, without necessitating the turning of the `cultivator. l

Second, in connecting the thills with the cultivatorframe, by what may be termed'a universal joint, or so thatv they cannot only be swung in' a horizontal plane, ,but also be capable of a rocking motion, to conform to the inequalities of the ground, without-discomfort to the horse or other draught-animal, or interference with the proper direction of the cultivator.

To enable those skilled in theA art to understand and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe the manner in which the same is ror may be carried into effect, by reference to drawings heretoannexed.

The cultivator itself need not be described, as it may be of any ordinary or suitable construction.

I nd, however, in practice, that by setting thestandardsy or legs A, to which the teeth B are attached, at an angle of ity degrees from the perpendicular, and by shaping the back teeth so as to throw the dirt out- -ward to the right and' left, the cultivator will draw with very great case, and is not so liable to clog.

The thills G, which are bracedat the rear end by the cross-bar D, in the usual"`maner, areV pivoted to the front of the cultivator by the rod a, which passes down through the cross-bar D, and is connected with the beam E, by the bar b, or in any other suitablemanner. t

` `n `this rod a the thills can turn in a horizontal p l e, from right to left, as will be seen without further` explanation.

n order to limit the movement of the thills, and at hersrne time to aiord an additional support for their ends, I employ the rlron segment c, which describes a curve, having the pivotal centre.

This segment passes through loop d, and its ends gre fastened to the corresponding rear ends of the thillrame.

The thills thus can be turned to the right or left forty-live degrees, more or less, in a horizontal plane, after which the contact of the chill-frame with the loop prevents any further movement of the thills independently of the cultivator, and the segment and loop not only have the function just described, but

pointv a for its they also serve to maintain and hold in position the thills, and to prevent excessive strain on' the pivot a-.

At times it is desirable that the thills should not only be capable of moving, as above described, but also that they should have the capacity. to rock, as for instance, when the cultivator is used on a hillfside, or on very uneven ground, and therefore, in order to attain this result, I hinge, or link, or hook the lower end of the rod a to the bar b, as shown in the drawing, so that the-rod can incline to the le: or right; and in order to adapt the other parts to this new movement, the loop d is made large enough, or its edges are bevelled, so as to permit the corresponding tilting of the segmentbar c.

Thus, at whatever inclination the rod a stands, the thills can still move to the right or left, in a plane at right angles to its axis.

The segment-bar in thiscase sustains much of the draught.

By this means, important results are attained.

The connection of the thills to the cultivator, so that the former can move or swing to the right or left, independently of the latter, isimportant, as the draughtanimal employedv cani turn to either side, as it often becomes necessary for it to do, without interfering in any way with the cultivator, oi' necessitating that it should follow the direction of the thills, while by arranging the thills so that they shall have both a rocking motion and a swinging motion on their axis, the greatest freedom of motion can be permitted without moving the cultivator from the proper course it is to follow.

Having now described my invention, and theman- .ner in which the same is or may be carried into ef feet What Il claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1 The combination,'with the cultivator-frame, of the thills, pivoted to the same, substantially in the manner described, so as to be capable of swinging or turning upon theirpivot from. side to side, indepcndently of the cultivator, for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with the pivoted thills' and cultivator-frame, of the segment, and its loop, or guide, attached respectively to said thills and frame,

and arranged to operate in connection therewith, subswung from side to side, substantially as shown and stantiaily as and for the purposes shown and set set forth. forth. In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to 3. The combination, with the frame of the eultithis specieatiou, before two subscribing witnesses. vator, ofthe thills, the hinged pivot, or rod, on which B. M. CLOSE. the same turns, and the segment, and its loop, or guide, Witnesses: under such an arrangement that the said thill may H. B. ELLER, be capable both of rocking and of being turned or WM. THOMPSON. 

